Every building has its fair share of problems, but at a certain point, they start to become excessive. If you have recurring technical mishaps in your apartment building, you might be able to turn that into discounted rent.

Our apartment building had a few false fire alarms this past weekend. Not one, not two-but three false alarms, the third of which happened early Monday morning at 1:30 AM. No, they weren't running any awkwardly-timed fire drills or testing the system (we asked management). It was just a horrible technical mishap.

If your apartment building is prone to technical problems (like frequent power outages, or something else you couldn't have seen before signing the lease), contact your landlord or building management to see if you can work out a deal for discounted rent. After a few polite emails to our building's management, we're getting a break on January's rent!

The key, of course, is not to go running to them after every little thing, but if you find that there's one particular issue that's happening over and over again, it might be time to have a talk with the management. Of course, depending on your leasing company (and the problem in question), you'll probably want to ask them to fix it before asking for a rent discount. But some managers may just ignore those problems (as lowering your rent is much less work), and some problems are just difficult to fix (my neighbors have had their electricity looked at twice, yet they still can't use their microwave without losing the power in their living room half the time).

As always, the "just ask" rule can get you remarkably good results, as long as you're polite and open to discussion. Also, make sure it isn't your fault before you start accusing the management—if you're getting power outages from that one outlet you've adapted to power five things, they're not likely to be sympathetic. And, of course, to avoid the whole situation in the first place, make sure you ask the right questions before you move in. Hit the link to read more, and if you've ever experienced something like this, share it with us in the comments.